SPARTANBURG, S.C.—Samford sophomore quarterback
Devlin Hodges was named the Southern Conference's Offensive Player of the Year, and 13 Samford players received honors when the league released its postseason football awards Tuesday morning.
Hodges earned Offensive Player of the Year honors from both the SoCon coaches and media. He is the second Samford player to be named the media's Roy M. "Legs" Hawley Offensive Player of the Year, joining former quarterback Andy Summerlin, who earned the honor in 2013. Hodges is the first Samford player to earn the award from both the coaches and media.
For the season, Hodges has completed 342-of-479 passes for 3,716 yards and 33 touchdowns. His completions, attempts and yards are all new school records, and his touchdown passes are just one short of the record set by Jimbo Fisher in 1987. His completion percentage of 71.4 is also the highest in school history.
Joining Hodges on the coaches first team were wide receiver
Karel Hamilton, linebacker
Shaheed Salmon and defensive back
Omari Williams. On the coaches second team were offensive lineman
Armando Bonheur, wide receiver
Kelvin McKnight, defensive linemen
Roosevelt Donaldson and
Ahmad Gooden, and safety
Jamerson Blount.
On the media's first team were Hodges, Hamilton, Gooden and Williams. Samford's representatives on the media's second team were Donaldson, Salmon and Blount.
The coaches also named an All-Freshman team, and three Samford players were named to the squad. Wide receiver
TaDarryl Marshall, offensive lineman
Nick Nixon and defensive lineman
Jalen Nash were named to the All-Freshman team.
In the coaches voting, in addition to Hodges being named Offensive Player of the Year, Chattanooga defensive lineman Keionta Davis was named the Defensive Player of the Year. Tyrie Adams from Western Carolina earned Freshman of the Year honors, while Isaiah Pinson from The Citadel won the Jacobs Blocking Award. The Citadel's Brent Thompson was named the league's Coach of the Year.
The Citadel's Kailik Williams was named the Defensive Player of the Year by the media. WCU's Adams was named the Freshman of the Year, and The Citadel's Thompson was named the Coach of the Year by the media.
Samford finished the regular season with a record of 7-4 overall and 5-3 in Southern Conference play. Sunday morning, the Bulldogs received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I-FCS Playoffs, and the team will play at Youngstown State Saturday at 4 p.m. (CT).
The game can be heard on 99.1 FM The Game, and it can be viewed live on ESPN3. To purchase tickets for the game, click on the following link:
PLAYOFF TICKETS.
2016 Coaches All-Southern Conference Football Team
Offensive Player of the Year – Devlin Hodges, R-So., QB, Samford
Defensive Player of the Year – Keionta Davis, Sr., DL, Chattanooga
Freshman of the Year – Tyrie Adams, QB, Western Carolina
Jacobs Blocking Award – Isaiah Pinson, Jr., OL, The Citadel
Coach of the Year – Brent Thompson, The Citadel
First Team Offense
QB Devlin Hodges, R-So., Samford
RB Derrick Craine, Sr., Chattanooga
RB Lorenzo Long, Sr., Wofford
OL Nick Jeffreys, Sr., The Citadel
OL Isaiah Pinson, Jr., The Citadel
OL Corey Levin, Sr., Chattanooga
OL Jacob Revis, Jr., Chattanooga
OL Anton Wahrby, Sr., Wofford
TE Ryan Swingle, R-Jr., VMI
WR Karel Hamilton, Sr., Samford
WR Andrej Suttles, Sr., Furman
First Team Defense
DL Joe Crochet, Sr., The Citadel
DL Keionta Davis, Sr., Chattanooga
DL Miles Brown, So., Wofford
DL Tyler Vaughn, Jr., Wofford
LB Shaheed Salmon, Jr., Samford
LB Dale Warren, Jr., Chattanooga
LB Nakevion Leslie, Sr., Chattanooga
DB Dee Delaney, Jr., The Citadel
DB Kailik Williams, Jr., The Citadel
DB Omari Williams, Jr., Samford
DB Lucas Webb, Jr., Chattanooga
First Team Specialists
PK David Marvin, Jr., Wofford
P Ian Berryman, R-So., Western Carolina
RS DeAndre Schoultz, Sr., The Citadel
Second Team Offense
QB Alejandro Bennifield, Jr., Chattanooga
RB Tyler Renew, Sr., The Citadel
RB Detrez Newsome, Jr., Western Carolina
OL Kyle Weaver, Sr., The Citadel
OL Bret Niederreither, Sr., Mercer
OL Armando Bonheur, Sr., Samford
OL Josh Cardiello, Jr., Chattanooga
OL Andrew Lewis, Sr., VMI
(tie)OL Roo Daniels, Jr., Wofford
TE Duncan Fletcher, Sr., Furman
WR Kelvin McKnight, So., Samford
WR Marquise Irvin, So., Mercer
Second Team Defense
DL Isaiah Buehler, So., Mercer
DL Roosevelt Donaldson, R-Sr., Samford
DL Ahmad Gooden, R-So., Samford
DL Vantrel McMillan, Sr., Chattanooga
LB Tevin Floyd, Sr., The Citadel
LB Ryan Francis, Jr., VMI
LB Tyson Dickson, Sr., Western Carolina
DB Trey Robinson, Sr., Furman
DB Jamerson Blount, Sr., Samford
DB Montrell Pardue, Jr., Chattanooga
DB Trey Morgan, Sr., Western Carolina
(tie)DB Jaleel Green, Sr., Wofford
Second Team Specialists
PK Cody Clark, Sr., The Citadel
P David Marvin, Jr., Wofford
RS Mason Dermott, So., VMI
(tie) Detrez Newsome, Jr., Western Carolina
All-Freshman Offense
Drew McEntyre, OL, The Citadel
Ben Blackmon, OL, ETSU
Tim Coleman, OL, Furman
Thomas Gordon, WR, Furman
TaDarryl Marshall, WR, Samford
Nick Nixon, OL, Samford
Malcolm White, OL, Chattanooga
Javean Lara, WR, VMI
Daz Palmer, RB, VMI
Tyrie Adams, QB, Western Carolina
Walker Lanning, OL, Western Carolina
(tie) Aubrey Payne, TE, Western Carolina
All-Freshman Defense
Khafari Buffalo, DB, The Citadel
Jason Maduafokwa, LB, ETSU
Nasir Player, DL, ETSU
Will Coneway, LB, Mercer
Eric Jackson, DB, Mercer
Dorian Kithcart, DL, Mercer
Jalen Nash, DL, Samford
George Gbesee, DB, Wofford
Mikel Horton, DL, Wofford
Datavious Wilson, LB, Wofford
Jireh Wilson, LB, Wofford
All-Freshman Specialists
Jacob Godek, PK, The Citadel
Colin Brewer, P, Chattanooga
Connell Young, RS, Western Carolina
2016 Media All-Southern Conference Football Team
Roy M. "Legs" Hawley Offensive Player of the Year – Devlin Hodges, R-So., QB, Samford
Defensive Player of the Year – Kailik Williams, Jr., DB, The Citadel
Freshman of the Year – Tyrie Adams, QB, Western Carolina
Wallace Wade Coach of the Year – Brent Thompson, The Citadel
First Team Offense
QB Devlin Hodges, R-So., Samford
RB Lorenzo Long, Sr., Wofford
RB Tyler Renew, Sr., The Citadel
OL Nick Jeffreys, Sr., The Citadel
OL Isaiah Pinson, Jr., The Citadel
OL Bret Niederreither, Sr., Mercer
OL Corey Levin, Sr., Chattanooga
OL Anton Wahrby, Sr., Wofford
TE Ryan Swingle, R-Jr., VMI
WR Karel Hamilton, Sr., Samford
WR Terryon Robinson, R-Jr., Western Carolina
First Team Defense
DL Joe Crochet, Sr., The Citadel
DL Ahmad Gooden, R-So., Samford
DL Keionta Davis, Sr., Chattanooga
DL Vantrel McMillan, Sr., Chattanooga
DL Tyler Vaughn, Jr., Wofford
LB Ryan Francis, Jr., VMI
LB Allan Cratsenberg, Jr., VMI
LB Nakevion Leslie, Sr., Chattanooga
LB Tevin Floyd, Sr., The Citadel
DB Dee Delaney, Jr., The Citadel
DB Kailik Williams, Jr., The Citadel
DB Omari Williams, Jr., Samford
DB Jaleel Green, Sr., Wofford
First Team Specialists
PK David Marvin, Jr., Wofford
P David Marvin, Jr., Wofford
RS DeAndre Schoultz, Sr., The Citadel
Second Team Offense
QB Alejandro Bennifield, Jr., Chattanooga
RB Detrez Newsome, Jr., Western Carolina
RB Derrick Craine, Sr., Chattanooga
OL Kyle Weaver, Sr., The Citadel
OL Matthew Schmidt, Jr., Furman
OL Jacob Revis, Jr., Chattanooga
OL Roo Daniels, Sr., Wofford
OL Dequan Miller, Sr., Wofford
TE Duncan Fletcher, Sr., Furman
WR Aaron Sanders, Sr., VMI
WR Marquise Irvin, So., Mercer
Second Team Defense
DL Ken Allen, So., The Citadel
DL Tosin Aguebor, Sr., Mercer
DL Roosevelt Donaldson, R-Sr., Samford
DL Miles Brown, So., Wofford
LB Dylan Weigel, R-So., ETSU
LB Shaheed Salmon, Jr., Samford
LB Dale Warren, Jr., Chattanooga
DB Trey Robinson, Sr., Furman
DB Jamerson Blount, Sr., Samford
DB Montrell Pardue, So., Chattanooga
DB Greg Sanders, Jr., VMI
DB Fred Payne, Sr., Western Carolina
Second Team Specialists
PK Cody Clark, Sr., The Citadel
P Ian Berryman, R-So., Western Carolina
RS Mason Dermott, R-Fr., VMI
